


leaves of change

by simulatedstrawberries



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Autumn, During Canon, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, and silly fall hijinks, apple picking, just happiness, no pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 21:11:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16167071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simulatedstrawberries/pseuds/simulatedstrawberries
Summary: “Show me more of that Eiji. Show me how you can fly. Let me learn more about you.”-Ash and Eiji go apple picking.





	leaves of change

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a gift for someone special~ I hope she likes it!

"Are you going to aim like that when your life's on the line?”

Eiji lowered his gun, staring shamefully at the bullet hole that had just barely graced the outer ring of the target.

Ash gave him a rather hard pat on the back, causing Eiji to stumble a bit, fumbling with his gun. “Hey, it’s not all bad. You’re actually hitting it now.”

He looked back at his handiwork. The outer rim of the left side looked like it had been chewed up by a bear, rather than shot by bullets; but Ash was right all the same. He had at least managed to successfully land the majority of his shots. A smile lit up Eiji’s features, and he turned to beam proudly up at Ash.

“That’s great, isn’t it Ash? I won’t have to weigh you down anymore! I can be useful to you!”

Ash blinked and turned away from the other boy, scratching his head. “Oi, don’t go getting ahead of yourself just because you didn’t fail miserably. That big head of yours will get you killed, y’know.”

A cool breeze tousled Eiji’s hair and caused him to shiver, pulling his red wool jumper tighter around himself. Ash had never much cared for this place, but autumn in Cape Cod was a spectacle to behold. Hues of orange, red, and yellow shimmered in the lazy light of the midday sun, brilliant against the open blue sky. The smell of salt water tickled his nose, and a crispness almost made him sentimental for pumpkin pies Griff used to bake him after he had spent the day romping with reckless abandon through the leaves.

But he wasn’t normally one for getting nostalgic.

This was _his_ fault. He shot a look at Eiji. Had to be.

“Hey, Ash...” Eiji’s soft voice took his eyes away from the sky and back down to earth.

“Eh? What do you want?”

“Um... you know.  Couldn’t we take a break from shooting and do something a little more... fun?”

Ash feigned surprise and quirked an eyebrow. “Whaddya mean, you’re not having fun?”

Eiji laughed nervously. “Even you must get tired of holding a gun all the time. You’re still a kid, don’t you think you should try to loosen up sometimes?”

This caused Ash to whistle, rocking back on his heels and locking the other boy in a playful choke-hold. “Now you’re going to start acting your age, huh? Little bit late for that, don’t you think?”

“Ash—mrrpph! I can’t breaf!!!”

Ash’s grip loosened, his teasing tone suddenly taking on a serious edge. “I lost any need to have fun a long time ago. For as long as I can remember, everything I did was just for survival. Whether I found enjoyment in any of it or not... it’s all the same to me.” He looked down at Eiji, immediately feeling a pang of guilt in his chest when he saw his chestnut-colored eyes swimming with concern. “But not you, huh? We really... did grow up in different worlds. You know, Eiji, I don’t think you’ve ever told me. What do you like to do for fun?”

“Don’t change the subject. We can talk about me later.” Eiji broke out of Ash’s arms and turned to face him, expression suddenly stern. “I want to know more about the boy Ash. Not the gang leader Ash. Not Golzine’s pet Ash. We may have grown up in different worlds, but you’re human, just like me. You laugh. You cry. I’ve seen it. You’re no monster, Ash Lynx. The few times you’ve opened up to me... I felt like I understood you, really understood you, for the first time. I want to know that Ash better.”

Ash was dumbfounded. How could a boy so ordinary continue to puzzle him time and time again? He felt momentarily frozen by the enormity of Eiji’s expression — of the sincerity on his face that he’d so rarely seen directed at him. His eyes seemed to deepen against the auburn leaves that swept behind him along the chill wind, glinting in the lurid light that broke through the canopy above them.

Ash Lynx never lost his words.

“I...” He opened and closed his mouth a few times before managing to regain his composure. “Fine. But you don’t know what you’re asking, do you?”

That burning, all encompassing gaze was replaced by Eiji’s usual puppy-like demeanor. “Really? You mean it? I want to do an American fall activity!”

“What the hell are you talking about? This ain’t some theme park.” Ash’s shoulders slumped and he relaxed again.

“Can we go on a hayride? Oooh! There’s orchards around here, right? Can we pick apples? Wait! Wait! I want to harvest pumpkins!”

“Wha— pumpkins? What would you need those bastards for?”

“It’s American tradition!” Eiji paused for a second, raising an eyebrow in thought. “Or... maybe I just want to see the pretty American boy cower in fear.”

Ash bristled. Suddenly he thought of Eiji standing atop a gargantuan tower of jack-o-lanterns, all of them staring unseeingly into his soul, Eiji simply cackling at his fear... “What are you, some kind of sadist?!”

Eiji’s face lit up with laughter, and Ash forgot about his childhood fear. “Your face when you’re scared is hilarious!”

“You’re really not as innocent as that face of yours suggests, are you?” Ash sighed.   
“There’s an orchard not too far from here. It’s just down a few country roads. They’ve only got apples, though. I’ll be damned if you get me anywhere near a pumpkin.” He stared at the ground, cheeks burning.

“You’re serious?!”

“Am I ever not serious?”

  


~~~

An old, torn map Griff had drawn years ago and the vague memories of Ash’s youth were all he had to guide them. It was a wonder they had made it to the old orchard at all — this place felt like no more than a mere fairy tale in his memory. It felt almost as though it was too good to be true, like it could never have existed in the same world as all the horrors he had seen.

“Here we are.”

The lazy rays of the sun bathed the rolling hills in a golden, almost ethereal light. An old, faded red farmhouse looked itself like a red apple waiting to be picked from the lush landscape. Everything looked so alive, iridescent — even though all of it was dying.

This was a view Ash had seen many times growing up. Yet, it wasn’t until now that he’d even managed to dredge it up from the caverns of his memory. The majority of his past he willed to forget, shoving all of his memories — good and bad — to the farthest, darkest depths of his brain. So why did he feel such a warm nostalgia now?

His eyes momentarily wandered to the boy standing next to him. His eyes shimmered with the excitement of a little kid who was about to dig into his Halloween candy for the very first time.

Ash looked back up at the view, just in time to see a fox scurry across an amber grove as a small flock of geese took flight from the small pond in the distance.

Maybe what he needed wasn’t to look at it from the perspective of his past self. Maybe all he needed was to experience the world through Eiji’s wide, glimmering eyes.

Ash almost had to laugh at himself. Really, when _had_ he become so sentimental?

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

 

~~~

 

Ash couldn’t really figure it out himself, but something about being by Eiji’s side made him want to show off even more than usual.

“A-Ash... Are you sure you should be doing that?”

Ash dragged his body, hooked rather precariously around a branch near the top of the tree, and stretched his fingertips further, further, so they were nearly touching the plump apple. “Yeah,” Ash huffed, blowing a blond lock from between his eyes and casting an agitated glare at the ground below him. “Why the hell shouldn’t I be?” The branch cracked beneath his weight, and Ash scrambled to shift his body closer to the tree trunk.

Eiji looked panic-stricken. “Uh... well it’s just... there’s a sign that says ‘No climbing’, so I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules...”

“When have I ever given a damn about rules?” His fingers finally made contact with the devil’s fruit. “Rules were made to be broken.”

Ash knew all too well that his little adventure was unnecessary. There were plenty of more than acceptable apples in places that, well, were easier to reach. But this was the most _perfect_ one. It’d be a waste if he didn’t get it for Eiji.

He yanked hard at the apple, and in one swift motion, tossed it down to Eiji. The bewildered boy stumbled forward and just barely managed to catch it before it connected with the earth.

Ash swung down from the branch with ease, landing on his feet like an acrobatic cat, stretching his limbs before he practically strutted up to Eiji with an unmistakable air of confidence written all over his face.

“Well? Are you going to eat it or not?”

Eiji blinked, momentarily dumbfounded. “Oh— ah, this?”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “What else?”

Just as Ash expected, Eiji’s eyes grew wide at once upon biting into the ripe fruit. “This...” he mumbled, mouth full, “is the best apple I’fe effer eaten...!”

Ash straightened out his back a little, bathing in the pride of his achievement. “They’re the best this time of year. Nothing can compare to the fresh apples at this orchard.”

Before Eiji could even swallow in time to respond, Ash had already picked up the wicker basket full of apples and begun trudging down the row of auburn-tainted trees.

“You know, I was serious when I asked you before.”

“Asked me what?” Eiji reappeared at his side, still munching on the apple.

“About you. About what you like to do, what growing up in Japan was like. I want to know more about you too, you know.” He didn’t let his eyes meet the older boy’s. He had displayed emotional vulnerability in front of him multiple times at this point, certainly, but he didn’t know how to deal with it in such a... normal, everyday situation. Is that what this was? Is this what normal people felt like?

A long silence followed. So long, it began to grate on Ash’s nerves. “Don’t just—”

“I don’t think I even knew myself in Japan.”

The answer caught Ash by surprise. He stopped for a moment and spun on his heels, emerald eyes boring curiously into the doe-eyed boy two steps behind him. Instead of supplying a quick retort, he waited for Eiji to continue.

“I was always searching for something.” A chill breeze murmured through the trees, ruffling Eiji’s hair as he spoke. “My parents always told me to get grades and get a high paying salary job. I went through the motions, going to school, going home, studying... But none of it felt like it ever had any meaning.” He paused, kicking at the grass at his feet. “Then I found pole vaulting. It was the first time I felt alive, like I meant more than just a being confined to the earth — like I could fly.”

Images of Eiji’s fearless leap the day they met flashed through Ash’s memory. He had his saved his life back then. It was a different Eiji than Ash had come to know. That Eiji was fearless, graceful, confident. That Eiji had wings.

“Of course, that all ended after the injury.”

The silence between them lengthened.

“Sorry, I recognize how stupid that must sound to someone like you—”

“Hey, Eiji.”

“E-eh?”

“If I had lived a normal life, gone to high school or whatever, if I was Japanese. Do you think we would have been friends?”

“You? Be friends with a boring guy like me?”

“Not with that attitude, old man.”

Eiji puffed out his cheeks in frustration. “Hey, I’d be your senior, you know. You’d finally have to show me some respect!”

Ash smirked, setting the basket on the ground next to him. “You want my respect? Age doesn’t mean a damn thing. You gotta earn it.”

“Is that a challenge?” A slight grin appeared beneath Eiji’s determined brow. It was an expression so alien to Ash that he couldn’t help but want to see more of it.

“Five minutes. Whoever picks the most apples wins.”

Ash thought he could sense Eiji’s sense of morality wavering a bit, but he stayed his ground. “And if I do?”

“You can have whatever you want.”

“Deal.”

They locked eyes for a moment before Ash disappeared in a blur towards the nearest row of trees. In the same breath, Eiji followed suit, climbing onto a branch and disregarding his concern for the rules only minutes before.

This time, Ash remained earthbound, keeping his focus on the low hanging branches and using his speed to his advantage. He paid little attention to the damage he was dealing to the trees as he swiped the fruit from them, using his strength to occasionally pull entire small branches down.

Had the two boys been caught, their little game would surely have resulted in their swift removal from the orchard. At times, it seemed like the entire row of trees was shaking. But Ash didn’t care. When was the last time he had felt this carefree? For a moment, he felt a little embarrassed — he knew how immature he was being, how uncharacteristic this was to the life full of responsibility he had led so far. But he couldn’t bring himself to care too much. A boyish grin grew wider upon his face as the pile of apples under his arm continued to grow.

When Ash caught sight of Eiji, he was nothing but wind in the trees. He leapt from branch to branch with ease, gaining height and distance as if it was something he had always done. For someone so reserved most of the time, he was truly remarkable when he spread his wings. Mesmerized, Ash didn’t notice when Eiji landed back on earth and rounded a tree trunk.

They collided.

Apples crashed this way and that, tumbling onto the grass and below their feet. Gravity failed them — they fell into a heap below the trees.

They were momentarily stunned, silent while they both attempted to regain control of their breathing.

“It’s not like you to play dirty, old man,” Ash chided breathlessly. He pinned the black-haired boy below him, preventing him from escape. “Confess your crimes and maybe I’ll let you go this time.”

“Ash!” Eiji squirmed, “You know it was an accident! Maybe you should learn to watch where you’re going.”

“You act like a scared rabbit most of the time, but you’ve got quite a mouth on you, don’t you?” A devilish grin lit up Ash’s face before he started to tickle Eiji’s sides relentlessly.

Eiji tried and failed to suppress his laughter. “C’mon Ash, you’re not playing fair!”

“Don’t underestimate me,” the younger boy teased, continuing his attack.

“Fine, fine, you win!” Eiji caved, voice still breathless.

As they both struggled to regain control of their breath, their eyes met once again and held each other’s gazes firmly in place. Ash found himself lost in Eiji’s russet eyes once again — he couldn’t look away or even move. After a few moments, the only sound he could hear was his own pounding heart.

“If you showed me that Eiji,” Ash muttered, his voice barely a whisper, “I wouldn’t have been able to stay away from you.”

Another breeze yawned through the trees. A few crimson leaves fell and settled behind Eiji’s hair, and Ash couldn’t help but bring his hand down to touch where one had fallen next to his cheek.

His voice was suddenly serious. “Show me more of that Eiji. Show me how you can fly. Let me learn more about you.”

Eiji’s eyes seemed to widen, and his breathing grew still. A gentle smile tugged at his lips, and he worked his hands free to tangle them in blond hair, pulling the other boy so close that their faces were nearly touching.

“You won, however unfair. What do you want?”

A heavy pause hung in the still autumn air.

“Kiss me,” Ash’s voice was quiet, and uncharacteristically soft.

Eiji didn’t argue.

Ash thought, if it was with Eiji, he didn’t mind being a little immature every now and then.


End file.
